Faust

David McVicar’s spectacular production of Gounod’s grand opera is set in decadent 1870s Paris.

Most recent performance

There are currently no scheduled performances of Faust.
It was last on stage 4–25 April 2014 as part of the Spring 2013/14 season.

Introduction

Weary of life and the pursuit of knowledge, the aged Faust contemplates suicide. Méphistophélès promises to satisfy all of his hedonistic demands in exchange for his soul.

Background

Charles-François Gounod’s Faust was once one of the most famous and most performed of all operas: at Covent Garden it was heard every season between 1863 and 1911. Jules Barbier and Michel Carré’s libretto is a tale of romance, temptation, and the age-old battle between satanic powers and religion. It is based on Carré’s play Faust et Marguerite, which in turn is based on Part I of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s dramatic poem Faust, one of the great works of European literature.

David McVicar’s lavish production, first seen in 2004, sets the action in the Paris of Gounod’s later years, on the eve of the Franco-Prussian War. Charles Edwards’s designs include a memorable Cabaret d’Enfer and an impressive reconstruction of the Church of Saint-Séverin. They vividly convey the clash between religion and hedonistic entertainment, and provide a powerful backdrop to Gounod’s score. Faust contains much-loved musical highlights including the memorable Soldiers’ Chorus, Méphistophélès’s rowdy ‘Song of the Golden Calf’, and Marguerite’s Jewel Song with its dazzling coloratura. The opera’s final scene includes an impassioned trio between Faust, Marguerite and Méphistophélès, as Marguerite struggles to resist temptation and gain salvation.

On Wikipedia

Faust is a grand opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1. It debuted at the Théâtre Lyrique on the Boulevard du Temple in Paris on 19 March 1859.

Running time

About 3 hours 30 minutes | Including one interval. Acts One, Two and Three will last for about 1 hour 50 minutes, followed by a 30 minute interval. Acts Four and Five will last for about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Language

Sung in French with English surtitles

Faustian Pack

April 2014

Gounod's Faust is part of Faustian Pack, in which the Royal Opera House explores the fascination of the Faust legend.